Whisky Discovery #249

Glenmorangie 12 Year Old 'Lasanta' (46% abv)

Highland Single Malt

Circa £40.00 70cl

We first tasted this expression at the Wine and Spirits Show last November, but fellow Whisky blogger and weaver of the #WhiskyFabric on Twitter Tom Thomson sent me a sample of this to enjoy at my leisure, which is why this blog post has followed much later than it should have done. If you are a Twitter user I suggest you follow Tom at @ifotou and you should certainly check out his website at www.tomswhiskyreviews.com

Lasanta was the replacement for the old Glenmorangie Sherry Finish, and means 'Warmth and Passion' in Gaelic. This whisky has spent ten years maturing in American white oak ex-bourbon casks before being extra-matured for a further two years in Oloroso Sherry casks.

So What Did We Think?

There is a definite 'struck match' note on this whisky, it's by no means unpleasant as I do quite like this sometimes. Under this it's fragrant and floral with sweet pears, honey and lemon with menthol. With time in the glass the nose develops, first with vanilla notes of caramel, then some fruit with plump raisins which evolves into rum and raisin ice cream, and the citrus notes turn towards chocolate orange creams

Initial sweetness of the sherried fruits, sultanas, oranges and a rich buttery toffee, the 'struck match' note was clearly evident on the plate for me too

The finish is long sweet and with a bitter nuttiness to it too.

I checked what Jim Murray had to say about this Whisky in his 2012 bible and he certainly wasn't a fan of this expression. I'm not sure I agree with his verdict, it's a pleasant enough dram. I'm not sure I would rush out to get myself a bottle, but I will look out for it to try it again. My favourite of the Glenmorangie range has been the standard 10 year old expression and have 'killed' two bottles of this on the journey to date, and I was also quite impressed with the Port Pipe finished Quinta Ruben which I first tasted in my local Cambridge Wine Merchants in Ampthill. Tom has recently sent me a sample of this and will be looking forward to re-visiting this soon.

I didn't have a great photo for this blog post (mine was very dark having been taken at a whisky show) so put a call out to a few fellow whisky bloggers. Three immediately rushed to my aid, Mark Dermal (aka The Toshan Man) Miguel Angel Blanch Lardin (aka A Wardrobe of Whisky) and Keith Wood (aka Whisky Emporium) Thank you gentlemen. 

Each of these sites is well worth following, and you can see what Miguel thought of this Glenmorangie here: The Lasanta